RAWALPINDI: The Rs47 billion Rawalpindi Ring Road project is likely to take another month before opening to traffic, as the remaining construction work, including fencing along the 38-kilometre road, resumed after a brief pause amid a controversy over an alleged no-objection certificate (NOC) for a proposed rest area.

A senior district administration official told Dawn that the road from Baanth on Grand Trunk Road to Thalian on the motorway had been completed, but some minor drainage work and interchange ramps were still under construction.

“The interchange ramps are connecting roadways that allow vehicles to transition between two or more intersecting highways at different elevations. These ramps are the essential curved or sloped components of a highway interchange, ensuring continuous traffic flow without the need for at-grade crossings.”

He said the ramps at Chakri, Khasala and Chak Beli Khan were under construction and were likely to be completed within one or two weeks. He added that drainage nullahs were also being built at some locations to prevent flood-like situations during the current monsoon season.

Fencing along 38km road resumes after brief pause amid controversy over an alleged NOC for proposed rest area, says official

Apart from this, he said fencing along the main carriageway from Baanth to Thalian had also begun.

“Almost 70pc of the concrete pillars have been erected and installation of barbed wire is in progress,” he said.

“Like the motorway, no vehicular or pedestrian crossing will be allowed on the Rawalpindi Ring Road, and this will also protect it from any commercial activity along the route,” he added.

Talking about the toll plazas, he said the foundations had been completed and the Punjab Ring Road Authority would soon construct its facilities and install a computerised ticketing system.

He said the Punjab Ring Road Authority would collect tolls from public transport, goods vehicles and private vehicles, as it does on the Lahore Ring Road.

“The same toll rates are likely to be implemented here,” he said.

When contacted, Rawalpindi Ring Road Deputy Project Director Ashfaq Sulheri said the work was almost complete and the Punjab government had been informed of the latest progress.

“It will decide when to open the road for traffic,” he said.

He said the 38-kilometre road had been completed. Green belts, signboards, lampposts and lighting would also be completed within one or two weeks. However, fencing along the Ring Road would take a few more weeks.

The total length of the Ring Road is 38.3km from Baanth (G.T. Road) to Thalian (Motorway). It will have five interchanges at Baanth, Maira Mohra, Khasala, Kolian Par and Thalian. An industrial zone will also be established along the road.

The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) is the executing agency, while the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) is the contractor.

During the PTI government, the planned length of the road was 68km, but work was halted following a financial scam and a revised alignment of 38.3km was approved. Former prime minister Imran Khan later laid the foundation stone in March 2022.

The PDM government, led by Shehbaz Sharif, temporarily suspended the project before allowing work to resume after third-party validation. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif laid the foundation stone for the project at Rawat on Aug 8, 2023.

Earlier this month, a controversy arose after a litigant approached the Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi bench over claims relating to an alleged NOC and a proposed commercial development alongside the Rawalpindi Ring Road.

Although a single bench directed the government to act on the NOC, the litigant later withdrew the petition. The division bench allowed the withdrawal, set aside the single bench’s judgment and disposed of all three intra-court appeals.

The controversy drew widespread public attention as it coincided with an unprecedented administrative reshuffle in Rawalpindi, during which the district’s entire top civil administration was replaced within a single day.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2026